bChapter /bb25 /b

ra’s POV

“Ten minutes bte/bb. /bOf courseb,/bb” /bGarron muttered, loud enough for everyone around him to hearb. /bHis fingers tapped an angry rhythm on his bbicep /blike he bwas /btrying to drill a hole in his own arm.

I hadn’t beven /bbentered /bbthe /bbfield /byet, and I could already bfeel /bthe heat of his irritation from bacross /bthe training grounds.

The morning bbell /bhad rung just minutes bago/bb, /band now over five hundred soldiers stood shoulder to shoulder on the open bfield/b. Each wore their bpack’s /bbcrest/bb, /bradiating strength and discipline. The Gammas of the five

bpacks /bbwere /balready assembled up frontb–/bbexcept /bmeb. /b

Garron huffed beside Bex, his voice thick with disdain. “If she were in my bpack/b, I would’ve kicked her bass /bout bby /bnow. This bis /btraining, not a tea party.”

Bex–tall, graceful, and always a little tooposed for a warrior–just chuckled under his breath. “Funny. I thought bwe /bbwere /bhere to build alliancesb, /bnot fragile egos.”

Garron turned to him with a bscowl/b, but Bex simply offered a lopsided grin in return.

It bwas /bthen that the iron gates behind them creaked open.

Thorne and Cael stepped through first, leading the way toward the tform. Their confident strides stole the attention of everyone in the field–at least until I followed behind them.

Every head turned.

My boots thudded quietly against the packed soil as I entered, d in a fitted ck tank and athletic skirt. My high ponytail swayed with each step. No jewelry. No armor. Just my badge pinned to my chest and enough focus in my stride to silence the whispers.

“Gamma on deck,” someone muttered from the front row. A few others nodded.

The crowd didn’t part for me. It bent.

I reached the stage and barely had time to nce around before Garron’s voice rang out.

“Gamma ra,” he barked, sarcasm dripping from my title. “You’rete. Enlighten us. Was there a fashion emergency, or were you simply lost?”

I didn’t bother responding to the insult. Instead, I pulled a gleaming silver badge from my pocket and held it up between my fingers.

“For you, Gamma Garron.”

His brows scrunched. “What the hell is thisb?/bb” /b

“The brooch you forgot,” I replied, voice even. “We agreed every Gamma would wear one during training. It bwas /bcovered in yesterday’s briefing, though I can understand why that detail might’ve slipped your mind.”

Bex didn’t even try to hide hisughter. “ra covering for the pack that supposedly bleads /bbus/bb? /bThat’s rich.”

Several nearby soldiers chuckled. Garron’s face med, and he looked like he might burst ba /bblood bvessel/bb. /bStill, he snatched the brooch from my hand and muttered something unintelligible under his breath.

bChapter /b25

Thorne bcleared /bhis bthroat/bb. /b“Let’s bmove /bforward. bWe’re /bnot bhere to /bbsquabble/bb./bb” /b

He gestured to bBeta /bMyles, who stepped forward to bexin /bthe blogistics/b.

b“/bbWe’ve /bballocated /bfive training grounds for the united session. One bis /bfully equipped–the other four, bless /bbso/b. The question bis/b: who gets the main bfield/b?b” /b

Predictablyb, /bbGarron /bstepped up first.

“Obviously, Direstone bKeep /bkeeps it. This bis /bour bpack/b, ournd. Don’t forget you’re guests here.b” /b

The other Gammas weren’t impressed. Gamma Jeff, tall and built like ba /btankb, /bbcrossed /bhis arms. “Hospitality must be a dying virtue in your territory.”

Gamma Steven chimed in. “We were invited. And I didn’t haul my men bacross /bthe region to be treated like straysb.” /b

I raised my hand and waited until the chatter died down. Then I spoke, calm and direct.

“Why notpete for it?”

Bex raised a brow. “Competeb?/bb” /b

“Yes. Each week, we draw a challenge. The winning pack uses the best field until the next challenge. bIt’s /bfair. It’s motivating. And it avoids this exact argument repeating every Monday.”

There were a few murmurs of agreement.

Garron looked like he wanted to protest, but Thorne beat him to it. “We’ll do it. First challenge starts today.”

And just like that, the decision was made. The first test? Hunting. ssic, primal, and practical. Each Gamma would lead a two–person team deep into the mountain. At sunset, whoever returned with the highest number of clean kills would win the field for the week.

I selected Jory–my golden retriever of a soldier–and Vessa, who needed no introduction. Fierce, loyal, and absolutely

unshakeable.

Garron’s eyes twitched as he picked Bobbie and Triss, both well–known for their size but not necessarily their strategy.

We were each handed a rough map and a re gun.

“In case of danger,” Myles said. “Use it.”

Garron scoffed and tossed his gun to Triss like it was garbage. “If you need to use this, maybe you shouldn’t be out there at allb./bb” /b

I was walking past Garron when he leaned close enough for only me to hear.

“Good luck finding your way around… I hear the back trail’s tricky.”

There was something smug in his smile.

I offered him one of my own. “I navigate better when things get messy. Hope your soldiers do too.”

We took our positions. Hundreds of eyes watched as the gates to the forest trail opened. The scent of pine and fresh soil filled my lungs.

Myles’s voice cut through the air like bsteel/b. “All teams, bready/b?”

I exhaled, centering myselfb. /b

“Then move out!”

And just like that, bwe /bdisappeared into the btrees/b.

bChapter /bb26 /b